Passive Participles in -ны/-ты
Passive Participles in -ны and -ты
Прачытаная кніга is a book that has been read. The word ends like an adjective and agrees with its noun.
How It Works
A passive participle is an adjective made from a verb. It describes a person or thing that an action was done to: забыты парасон (a forgotten umbrella), зачыненыя дзверы (a closed door).
How the form is built. Start from the infinitive. Most participles come from perfective verbs such as прачытаць or зачыніць, because they describe a finished result.
- Verbs in -аць, -яць take -аны, -яны: напісаць → напісаны, прачытаць → прачытаны.
- Verbs in -іць, -ыць, -ці take -ены: зачыніць → зачынены, прынесці → прынесены. The consonant often changes, as it does in the я form of the verb: зрабіць → зроблены, купіць → куплены, запрасіць → запрошаны.
- After ж, ш, ч, дж and р the ending is spelled -аны, because an unstressed е after a hard consonant is written а: скончыць → скончаны, вырашыць → вырашаны.
- Many short verbs and verbs in -нуць take -ты: узяць → узяты, забыць → забыты, адкрыць → адкрыты, кінуць → кінуты.
Endings. The participle agrees with its noun in gender, number and case, just like an adjective (see adjective agreement and adjective case endings): забыты парасон, прачытаная кніга, адчыненае акно, зачыненыя дзверы, у зачыненым пакоі.
One н. Russian writes many of these words with нн. Belarusian always has one: прачытаная, зробленыя, падрыхтаванае.
A participle can take its own words, such as the doer in the instrumental: кніга, напісаная маім сябрам. See participial phrases and the agent in the instrumental. As a predicate, the short form in -на or -та is also common: Усё зроблена. See predicates in -на and -та.
Examples (6)
- Я вярнуў у бібліятэку прачытаную кнігу.
I returned the book I had read to the library.
Word by Word: I returned to library read book.
Said by a man. A woman says: Я вярнула.
- На стале ляжаў забыты парасон.
A forgotten umbrella was lying on the table.
Word by Word: On table lay forgotten umbrella.
- На сняданак у нас вараныя яйкі.
We are having boiled eggs for breakfast.
Word by Word: For breakfast at us boiled eggs.
Вараны comes from варыць (to boil).
- Праз адчыненае акно было чуваць птушак.
You could hear the birds through the open window.
Word by Word: Through opened window was audible birds.
- Усе падрыхтаваныя дакументы ляжаць у папцы.
All the prepared documents are in the folder.
Word by Word: All prepared documents lie in folder.
- Узятыя кнігі трэба вярнуць да пятніцы.
Borrowed books must be returned by Friday.
Word by Word: Taken books necessary to-return by Friday.
A -ты participle from узяць (to take).
Common Mistakes
Writing нн as in Russian.
Я вярнуў прачытанную кнігу.Я вярнуў прачытаную кнігу.Belarusian passive participles have a single н: прачытаная, зробленая, напісаныя.
Using the Russian ending -ый.
На стале ляжаў забытый парасон.На стале ляжаў забыты парасон.The masculine ending is -ы, as in adjectives: забыты, зачынены, напісаны.
Forgetting to change the ending for case.
Мы жывём у нядаўна пабудаваны доме.Мы жывём у нядаўна пабудаваным доме.The participle agrees with доме, which is locative after у, so it takes the adjective ending -ым.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Passive participles need the perfective and adjective endings.
Related Patterns
- Predicates in -на/-таPredicates in -на and -та
The short -на/-та form of the same participles, used as a predicate: Усё зроблена.
Level 4 - Participial Phrases
Shows how a participle carries its own words and when to add commas.
Level 4 - The Agent in the Instrumental
Names the doer of the action in the instrumental: напісаная сябрам.
Level 4 - Past Participles in -лы
The active counterpart: a state reached by a change, as in пажоўклае лісце.
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Passive Participles in -ны/-ты in Bubblegum
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